Enough "meaningless drivel". That's the message from a group of members of the UK government who have been examining how social media firms like LinkedIn gather and use social media data. The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee's report, released last week, has blamed firms for making people sign up to long incomprehensible legal contracts and calls for an international standard or kitemark   to identify sites that have clear terms and conditions. "The term and conditions statement that we all carelessly agree to is meaningless drivel to anyone," says Andrew Miller, the chair of the committee. Instead, he says, firms should provide a plain-English version of their terms. The simplified version would be checked by a third party and awarded a kitemark if it is an accurate reflection of the original. It is not yet clear who would administer the scheme, but the UK government is looking at introducing it on a voluntary basis. "we need to think through how we make that work in practice," says Miller. Would we pay any more attention to a kitemark? "I think if you went and did the survey, people would like to think they would," says Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton, UK, who studies open data. "We do know people worry a lot about the inappropriate use of their information." But what would happen in practice is another matter, he says. Other organisations such as banks ask customers to sign long contracts they may not read or understand, but Miller believes social media requires special attention because it is so new. "We still don't know how significant the long-term impact is going to be of unwise things that kids put on social media that come back and bite them in 20 years' time," he says. Shadbolt, who gave evidence to the committee, says the problem is that we don't know how companies will use our data because their business models and uses of data are still evolving. Large collections of personal information have become valuable only recently, he says. The shock and anger when a... Andrew Miller thinks social media needs more attention than banks mainly because   _  . A) their users consist largely of kids under 20 years old B) the language in their contracts is usually harder to understand C) the information they collected could become more valuable in future D) it remains unknown how users' data will be taken advantage of
D

If you want to be a success, study at the University of Waikato is right for you. The university is internationally recognized for its excellence and achievements. It will help you develop advanced research skills. As a university student you can get first-class research facilities   with trained teachers to help, support and advise you in your study. We pride ourselves on our high standards, our research success and our international recognition. For further information: inf@waikato.ac.nz. Degree We offer a wide choice of bachelor's degrees   for international students, which includes: Arts, Communication Studies, Social Sciences, etc. Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education are only for New Zealand citizens, for further information: deg@waikato.ac.nz. Tuition Fees  Tuition fees are different from department to department, generally from $5,000 to $6,000 a year. For further information: tui@waikato.ac.nz. Accommodation  You can have a room in a 4-bedroom flat, which will cost about $100 a month with other regular living costs of about $150 a month for one person. For further information: acc@waikato. ac.nz Health The Student Health Service provides excellent medical services for students. The Medical Centre is open five days a week, including student holidays with four doctors and nurses to meet your medical needs. For further information: heal@waikato.ac.nz. Sports The Centre is a great place to have sports activities. Trained exercise teachers can help you work out a training plan and keep you active. The sports hall has volleyball, basketball and indoor football courts and a swimming pool as well. There are also a large number of sports clubs at Waikato. For further information: sport@ waikato.ac.nz According to the text, what will you do if you are ill during Christmas holidays? A) Go to a hospital nearby. B) Buy some medicine in a drug store. C) See a doctor at the school medical centre. D) Try to get help from your classmates.
C

Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had "seven fathers," because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated  into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate. In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university's Writers' Workshop, however, she felt lonely----a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her "Creative voice." "It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn't think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That's when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn't write about." Cisneros published her first work,The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children's book, and a short-story collection. The graduate program gave Cisneros a chance to   _  . A) develop her writing style B) run away from her family C) make a lot of friends D) work for a school magazine
A

In one way of thinking, failure is part of life. In another way, failure may be a way towards success. The "spider-story" is often told. Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a cave from the English. He watched a spider making a web . The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock. He tried six times. On the seventh time he made it and went on to make his web. Bruce is said to have been encouraged by this and to have gone on to defeat the English. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one. Once he was asked why he kept on trying to make a new type of battery when he had failed so often, he replied, "Failure? I have no failure. Now I know 50,000 ways it won't work." So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top form yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time? Second, is the goal you're trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about this question, "If I do succeed in this, where will it get me?" This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn't be doing anyway. The third thing to keep in mind about failure is that it's a part of life. Learn to "live with yourself" even though you may have failed. Even if we have failed we should   _  . A) learn to forget it B) learn to remember it C) learn to enjoy it D) learn to accept it

D